92 2 door XJ build

[adamk]

You are correct haha. Living in an apartment really kills my ability to work on it. I'll be outside with my welder tonight getting the rear shock mounts on haha.

 

[adamk]

Finished moving the rear axle last night and did some flex testing during lunch today. I need to bump stop the rear and trim the front bumper some but other than that, I'm very happy with it.

 

[adamk]

Over the past 3-4 weeks I've gotten some more work done. I got the rear shock brackets welded up and the shocks mounted. I also built an anti-wrap bar. Then it was time for a shake down run. All went well except for throwing a bead, some slight overheating, and worn out arms/shoulders. I installed a bigger, better placed tranny cooler which has solved my overheating issues. I have also priced out a hydro assist setup. My arms were worn out trying to turn these 38s without assist.

I also picked up a new wheeling partner. Her name is Marley and she already loves the Jeep and Uwharrie.

Now on to the pics...the last is a video of the first ledge of Daniel. Walked up with minimal effort

 

[adamk]

Looks like I'm headed to Charlotte Saturday morning to pick up the starting points for a hybrid cage. I'm picking up the top halo and interior b pillar. From there I will build the exterior A pillar, interior C pillar and add some triangulation. It will all be tied into the frame via my sliders which are already welded in.

 

[adamk]

So last Friday I made a trip down to Charlotte to pick up some hybrid cage parts. I got the top hat, interior b pillar and a light bar mount. I'm not going to use the light bar mount but I'm sure I'll find another use for it somewhere else. Tonight I will start getting the B pillar cut and welded so that I can bolt it to the top hat. The plan is to sandwich the roof between two 1/4" plates. The bottom of the B pillar just so happens to fall on the leg for my sliders so I think I'll just drill through the floor and weld it to that leg which will tie it into the frame. Then all that's left is to bend up some exterior A pillars and an interior D pillar. I will be bracing between the B and D pillars on the inside as well. I'm hoping to have the B pillar installed by Friday and then have the rest of it done by the end of November as I will be traveling the next 3-4 weekends.

 

[adamk]

Well I got the B pillar in 85% last night. I just have to finish drilling holes for the bolts that will hold the top hat to the B pillar and the B pillar to the sliders.

 

[adamk]

I've been slowly working on the jeep here and there. It's been hard finding time between work, holidays, traveling, and other projects. I have gotten the top halo on finally. All that is left is to get some 1.5" DOM and bend up some A pillars and a D pillar. I will probably farm out those two items because I don't have access to a bender with a 1.5" die. I did go out to Uwharrie two weeks ago for the work day and then did some easy trail riding afterwards. Jeep did just fine. I also picked up 5 BFG Bajas to replace the TSLs. I just haven't taken the time to swap them out yet.

 

[77GreenMachine]

That thing is gonna ride and steer real good once you get those new tires on!

 

[adamk]

I sure hope so. Right now its miserable.

 

[adamk]

Did some more wheeling this weekend. My girlfriend did a lot of driving and I am very proud of how well she did being her first time driving the XJ since the axle swap.

 

[iwaxmyjimmy]

Looks good man, might be time to adjust shock mounts to use all the travel though, lol.

 

[adamk]

Looks good man, might be time to adjust shock mounts to use all the travel though, lol.

It's actually the radius arms that are the problem. Wristing the passenger arm is now a must. I just have to find another factory ford arm so that I can make a new one.

 

[iwaxmyjimmy]

It's actually the radius arms that are the problem. Wristing the passenger arm is now a must. I just have to find another factory ford arm so that I can make a new one.

Ahh gotcha. Well I'm curious to see what you come up with bud.

 

[adamk]

Ahh gotcha. Well I'm curious to see what you come up with bud.

Thanks. The plan is to run it as is for another season and see if the c bushings just need to be broken in. If so, I'll leave it, if not, I'll build a new passenger arm that has the wrist built into it

 

[Chris_Keziah]

You wanna wheel on Saturday Adam? Club Christmas party is Saturday, free food....

 

[drkelly]

It's actually the radius arms that are the problem. Wristing the passenger arm is now a must. I just have to find another factory ford arm so that I can make a new one.

Ive got a wristed arm im going to put up for sale soon. Probably going to be after christmas though before i can pull it off the truck. Let me know if you are interested.

 

[adamk]

You wanna wheel on Saturday Adam? Club Christmas party is Saturday, free food....

I was actually planning to go out this weekend but some stuff has come up and I can't. Thanks for the invite though man

 

[adamk]

Ive got a wristed arm im going to put up for sale soon. Probably going to be after christmas though before i can pull it off the truck. Let me know if you are interested.

Absolutely. Pm me and I'm sure we can work something out

 

[adamk]

Went to the Jamboree and worked the event with TJC. I sold off some small parts that have been collecting dust. I didn't do any wheeling opening weekend. I'm not a fan of mud so I let others have at it out there. I was driving home last week when death wobble decided it wanted to play a game. I couldnt get over 30 mph without getting it. Dove into that issue at lunch today and found a plethora of issues.

Here's the list:
Passenger side heim bolt came loose - check that off as fixed
Play in steering box - play between worm gear and sector shaft
Play in joints of steering arm between column and box - JY replacement will be fine for now
Track bar bushing is toast
Torn welds on frame side track bar bracket - this is an RE bracket bolted to frame. Bolts are still tight but has started ripping one of the welds. Plan is to take it off and repair it.

Pretty much I have a good bit of work ahead of me. I'm hoping to tighten up the slop in the steering box without having to remove it. I'll get pics of the TB bracket once I get it pulled tonight/tomorrow.

 

[marty79]

love the XJ man, I'm a huge XJ fan and I love stance of your 2door. Awesome clean looking 2door!!

 

[adamk]

love the XJ man, I'm a huge XJ fan and I love stance of your 2door. Awesome clean looking 2door!!

Thanks bud.

Yesterday I got the track bar mount pulled. I found the welds ripping on both sides of the mount. I also noticed that it was only welded on the exterior and not the interior. I had a buddy check his mount and his was fully welded inside and out. I guess I just got one that missed a step in the assembly process. Oh well. I then took it over to Yates Speed Shop, cut the bracket up, ground it down, and then welded it all back up. I made sure to weld it inside and out. I'm also planning to make a brace very similar to RE's one they sell for their track bars.

 

[adamk]

After a lot of searching, I came up empty handed on a replacement bushing for the track bar that would work with a 3/4" bolt. I ended up just ordering a RE replacement bushing and planned to drill it out. While I waited for it to show up, I made a sleeve from some scrap steel we had at work. I machined it to a 1" OD and 3/4" ID. I was going to use 1" .120 wall DOM but the issue with that is the .010" slop that would be between the sleeve and the bolt. The bushing showed up Saturday so I got it machined out for the 1" sleeve and assembled it all today at lunch. I also picked up a new bolt and nylock. The plan is to weld the nylock to the axle mount for the track bar and thread the bolt into the axle side mount. This will put the head of the bolt facing the steering and give me some more clearance between the bolt and the tierod. I should have all this done tomorrow and will get pics then.

 

[adamk]

I got the track bar on last night. Because the front is stretched, I couldnt get a socket on the track bar mount bolts next to the coil. My solution was the jack the front end up and let the coils droop out of the way. Worked great.

Also, I decided it was a good time to start to finish this hybrid cage that needs to get done. I had some scrap 1.75" .120" DOM laying around that was just long enough for the rear interior. I can't call it a D pillar because the jeep is a 2 door and I can't call it a C pillar because its not close enough to the rear hatch so the joke of the night was I was making a B and a half pillar.

I'll get more pics this afternoon.

 

[adamk]

I've continued working on the jeep here and there. I put a new water pump and tstat in it. Got the d pillars finished up. Got rid of the bald swampers for a set of Goodyear MTs. A week later I snagged a set of bajas on steel wheels. Installed a cowl intake. Got some padding on the b pillar so no one gets knocked out. Removed the rear seat completely to make room for storage to be built. Had some issues with the blower motor and traced it down to a bad connection so I got that sorted out. Installed some led pod lights on the front bumper and lastly reinstalled the overhead console so I can have my efan on a switch again.

I'm planning to make a run at pots mountain on the 9th and everything is falling into place nicely for that.

 

[Chris_Keziah]

#tirewhorefolyfe

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